Billboard demonstration makes a difference; battle continues

By Michael Orbach

Issue of Dec. 19, 2008 / 22 Kislev 5769

On a wet Thursday afternoon, Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback and a handful of protestors huddled under umbrellas, holding copies of a billboard they find offensive. It advertises a Gentleman’s Club on Rockaway Boulevard, just over the Queens border from Lawrence; in the heavy drizzle the scantily clad woman in the picture just looked silly. The protestors were in Great Neck, gathered in front of 350 Northern Boulevard, which houses the offices of American Consolidated Construction. Mody Movtady, the owner of that company, is also the owner of the building that houses the club, according to a violation issued by the New York City Department of Buildings. Earlier, Toback had said that Movtady had been uninterested in pushing the club to remove the sign. Lenore Davis, a community activist, who was hidden inside her jacket to escape the chill rain, explained the rationale for the protest: “Negotiation didn’t work, so now we’re up to the step of demonstrating to let the owner of the billboard know that he doesn’t want the billboard in his neighborhood and we don’t want the billboard in our neighborhood.” Representatives from Queens Councilman James Sanders’ office were present as well. Midway through the protest, accompanied by a television news crew from Channel Two, Toback went inside Movtady’s office. He dropped off a copy of the billboard to a friendly, if not particularly amused, attendant. Movtady called Toback on his cell a short time later. He was “cordial” on the phone, Toback said, and a meeting was arranged between Toback, Sanders and Movtady to discuss the billboard. “It’s a good first step,” Toback said, “letting him know that we’re not going away.”